What if Window of Opportunity
by littleyeteager
Summary: What if it had been Sam stuck in the time loop with Jack?


Sorry –I said this would be coming soon oh, so long ago, but then my life went to hell. My lovely nanna was very ill and I just wasn't in the mood for writing. Then she died and my heart broke for the first time. I was just putting it back together, when my uncle got sick and died. Then one of my closest friends died last year and the man who has been like a second father to me passed away in March. It's been a bad time and my heart has been shattered into tiny little pieces. I've managed to pick most of them up, but there's still a few pieces missing that I don't think I'll ever find again. I thought starting to write again might help.

Another 'what if' story. What if it wasn't Jack and Teal'c stuck in the time loop in Window of Opportunity. What if were Jack and Sam? OOC moments, but I don't care, 'cos that's one of the reasons we write this stuff, isn't it?

I don't own anything SG-1, except my DVD collection. And the Jack O'Neill photo that I may or may not talk to sometimes.

Enjoy.

"But it's safe, right?"

"As long as we don't stay here too long, yes sir." Sam smiled at her commanding officer before making final checks on the equipment in front of her.

Jack gestured at the altar at the far end of the structure, "Anybody explain that to Daniel?"

Sam watched her friend turning from the rubbings he was taking and talking excitedly with the other archaeologist, Malikai. "He does seem very interested in the writings here."

"Yeah, he does that, doesn't he?" Jack raised the filter to his eyes and went back to watching the solar flares. A distant rumble of thunder echoed around the site. Sam made some final adjustments, checking on her readings one more time.

"All set up, sir."

"Good. Let's hit it," Jack stood and tucked away the filter, activating his radio with the other hand. "Daniel, let's go home."

Teal'c moved to help Sam collect up her equipment while Jack waited for a response. Puzzled when none came, he thumbed the radio again, "Daniel?"

The three turned as one and looked towards the altar. Seeing no sign of the fourth member of their team, they started to move, automatically spreading out to cover the angles. An odd humming started at the edge of their hearing, building gradually.

"O'Neill."

"Yeah, I hear it." Behind him, Jack was aware of Sam scanning the area, trying to locate the origin of the sound. It was building faster now. The team ducked as massive arcs of energy started crackling between the pillars around them. A familiar sound came from behind them and with barely a glance, they hit the floor, the vortex exploding outwards and flooding above them. Jack scrambled to his feet and ran towards Malikai, his weapon raised; Sam and Teal'c were on his heels in seconds.

"Are you doing this?"

"Daniel!" Sam dropped to her knees beside the archaeologist, checking his pulse. Satisfied that he was just unconscious, she got to her feet again, bringing her weapon to bear on the man at the altar.

"Stay away!" Malikai shouted, wildly firing a shot. It hit Teal'c square in the chest and he dropped backwards into the dirt.

Jack threw himself at Malikai, grabbing his arm and twisting the gun out of his grasp. Sam raced to join him, securing the man's other arm. The three struggled for a moment before the energy build-up reached its peak and a blinding flash of light engulfed them.

"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?"

Jack paused, a spoon of Fruit Loops halfway to his mouth. "What?" Next to Daniel, Sam was looking around in confusion.

"What do you think?" Daniel searched his friends' faces. "Is there something wrong?"

Jack met Sam's look of bewilderment with one of his own. "Weren't we just somewhere else?"

"Where?"

"Some planet."

"We were just on P4X-639." Sam looked around her again, "How did we get here?"

Daniel turned his gaze to Sam, "P4X-639? That's the planet we're scheduled to go to today. In fact, you're just about to deliver a briefing."

Sam shook her head, "No, I already did that."

"Yeah, Carter wanted to go set up some sort of remote observatory. Something to do with…solar…something."

Daniel's eyes narrowed as he studied them. "Is this some kind of joke, guys?" He pointed accusingly at Jack. "You're just trying to get out of answering my question."

Jack shrugged, "What question?"

Sam tried to stifle a grin as Daniel rose from the table, looking slightly offended. "Come on, we're going to be late for the briefing."

Watching him leave for a couple of seconds, Jack turned back to Sam. "Carter?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, sir. I'm as confused as you are."

"OK, unless Daniel's developed a really weird sense of humour since yesterday, something very strange is going on."

"There's always the possibility that we're having some kind of shared hallucination or psychotic episode, sir." Sam smirked.

"Funny, Carter." Jack stood. "Let's go."

General Hammond, Teal'c and Daniel were waiting in the briefing room when they arrived. Jack took his usual seat, but instead of lounging back in his chair, he sat forward, leaning his arms on the table. Sam took her place in front of the screen and flicked to the first image. She stared at it for a moment, then turned to Jack.

"Sir?"

"Yeah, Carter; I know." Jack dragged a hand through his hair. "General, we've done this before."

The older man frowned. "Done what before, Colonel?"

"The briefing on P4X- 639, sir. I remember it." Aware of how ridiculous it sounded, Sam's shoulders were tense, but her voice was calm and she addressed the General with her usual confidence.

"I don't understand, Major. How can you possibly remember something that hasn't happened?"

"Sir, it _has_ happened. I distinctly remember sitting here listening to Carter prattle on about solar activity and…corona something."

"Corona mass emission," Sam threw her commanding officer an annoyed glance. "Sir, how would Colonel O'Neill know about that unless we'd done this before?"

"Maybe he read your report, Major."

Three heads turned slowly to look at General Hammond.

"Maybe he read her report?" Daniel repeated, a sarcastic edge to his voice. Jack glared at him.

"Sir, please…" Sam broke off as the sirens blared through the base, a technician's voice informing them of an unscheduled offworld activation. Jack and Sam exchanged a look as everyone jumped to their feet.

"It's SG-12," Jack called to the others as they headed down the stairs into the control room.

The General shook his head slightly, "They're not due back for days." He and SG-1 watched as the GDO signal was received and confirmed as SG-12. Jack smirked at Daniel and Teal'c's disbelieving looks. The iris grated open.

Sam picked up the receiver next to her and punched in a number. "Medical assistance in the Gateroom, please."

Before the General could ask, SG-12 emerged through the Gate, one of the members being supported by his team mate; his leg obviously injured. Under her colleagues' stares, Sam could only manage a rueful smile.

Jack blinked away the effects of Doctor Frasier's penlight.

"Well, sir, I can't find anything wrong with either of them. We'll have to wait for the lab results to be sure, but they both appear to be in perfect health." Janet tucked the light back into her pocket and made some notes on Jack's charts.

"Except for the fact that they're remembering events that haven't even happened yet," Daniel pointed out.

General Hammond nodded, "I'm not taking any chances. Until we figure out what's going on, I'm postponing your mission to P4X-639."

Sam removed the thermometer from her mouth and handed it to the nurse. "Sir, I've been thinking about what we saw – the beam hitting the Gate. What if we're not remembering future events? Maybe we've been sent back in time; reliving the moments up to the mission." A familiar feeling was creeping up on her; the feeling that she got when she was developing a working hypothesis, improvising around her knowledge and expertise. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. "Could the beam we saw be a means to access the Gate's subspace field in order to create some kind of time inversion outside of subspace?" Suddenly aware that the faces around her were uncomprehending, she straightened and faced General Hammond. "Sir, may I run some simulations?"

"Go ahead, Major; you're dismissed."

Jack clapped his hands together softly, "And I can do what?"

Sam found Jack in the briefing room, staring moodily at his coffee. He looked up as she sat opposite him. "Frasier's given us a clean bill of health, but the General's waiting for the results of your simulations before he'll let us go back out there."

"I'm not sure my results will be much help at the moment. Without more data, I can't…"

The alarms blared again, cutting her off. Jack took a moment to raise his eyes to the heavens before making for the door at a run, Sam close behind him.

In the control room they were met with the sight of the activated Gate surrounded by arcing energy, the bolts sizzling across the iris. General Hammond was standing behind the technician, staring at a screen declaring the effect as an unknown error.

"I've never seen anything like it."

Jack sighed, "We have."

He and Sam squinted against the flash of light that enveloped the room.

"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?"

Jack dropped his spoon into the bowl. Sam slumped back in her chair. They exchanged an exasperated look, then stood and walked out of the commissary together.

Daniel watched them go. "Guys?"

"Sir, I believe that the Ancient machine on P4X-639 is capable of creating a time inversion outside subspace and this, in turn, appears to have trapped me and Colonel O'Neill in some kind of time loop."

General Hammond nodded.

"Kinda like Groundhog Day, sir."

The General turned slowly to face Jack, his face impassive. Sam raised a hand to her mouth to hide her smile.

"See, I knew I should keep my mouth shut. They always believe the technobabble." Jack tried to look contrite. "General, I know you're going to postpone the mission, but we tried it last time and it didn't work."

"Actually, sir, I have an idea that might work, but I'll have to explain it after SG-12's return." Sam shot Jack a triumphant look. He glared at her good-naturedly – he'd wanted to spring that surprise.

"SG-12? They're not due back for three days."

Jack couldn't resist it – as the alarms started up, he stood and moved to pick up the intercom receiver, requesting medical attention to the Gateroom. He smirked at Sam, the challenge laid down. She flashed a grin at him; challenge accepted. They followed the others to the control room.

As soon as the Gate had closed and SG-12 had been taken to the infirmary, the General turned to Sam. "All right, Major; your theory about stopping this…time loop you and the Colonel are stuck in?"

"Well, sir; in the first loop, Colonel O'Neill and I witnessed an energy beam striking the Gate that somehow energised it. In the second loop, we saw the same effect here on our own Gate at the exact same time. The effect is clearly being translated through the Gate to Earth. In which case, the solution is simple."

"We dial out," Daniel nodded his understanding.

"Exactly. A few minutes before this is set to begin again we establish an outgoing wormhole to, I don't know…say the Tollan home world, and anyone or anything trying to dial in from P4X 639 will get a busy signal." Sam and Jack looked at the General.

"Let's do it."

"Jack! Wait up!"

Jack and Sam turned to see Daniel hurrying towards them with his arms full of papers.

"I was thinking about what you said about a beam coming from the altar…"

Jack raised a finger to stop the archaeologist continuing. He pointed at the papers, winking almost imperceptibly at Sam. "Four hundred pages of alien text." He and Sam grinned at Daniel's apparent surprise.

"Right, SG-15 took digital images of the carvings on the ruins. It's a variation of the writings used by the Ancients." Daniel handed Jack a handful of images.

Jack shrugged, barely glancing at the pictures. "Well, if you're looking for help translating it you're barking up the wrong genius." He handed the papers back and glanced down the adjoining corridor. Sam frowned, suspicious.

"No, I realize that the Asgard returned you to normal, which is…fortunate I suppose." Jack didn't seem to be listening; he nudged Sam conspiratorially and nodded down the corridor. She looked back, confused.

"But if you could give me more details about the layout of the ruins it might be useful…"

Siler came around the corner at speed and ran straight into Daniel, knocking him down. His papers flew out of his arms and scattered across the floor. Siler apologized and started to help Daniel to his feet. Another airman collected up the papers.

Jack smiled slowly, watching the fun. "Oops."

"You _knew_ that was going to happen!" Sam looked shocked.

Jack raised his eyebrows at her. "C'mon, Carter; I gotta get _some_ laughs out of this situation." Hands firmly in his pockets, he turned on his heel and headed for the control room.

The light flared again and Jack found himself staring at a spoonful of Fruit Loops once more. He sighed.

Sam dragged a hand through her hair. "Sir, I think we should try Daniel's idea."

"Wait. My idea? What idea?"

Jack shrugged and put his spoon down. "Carter, what makes you think staring at a bunch of pictures is going to make any difference to this situation?"

"What situation? Is breakfast a situation?"

As one, Sam and Jack turned on him.

"Daniel, shut up!" they chorused. Sam had the grace to look guilty as their friend's mouth snapped shut, looking hurt.

"Sir, I can't do anything with the data I have until we know how that device works. If that means learning Ancient, then I'm willing to give it a try." Sam folded her arms.

Jack sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair, "Fine. I guess it'll be useful if I get my head sucked again."

Sam grinned at him. "How hard can it be?"

They settled quickly into an easy routine; with their usual empathic military style, each loop brought a quicker and more efficient transition through their colleagues' disbelief. Unfortunately, they hadn't managed to avoid the extensive medical check every time and it was starting to get on Jack's nerves – he didn't like tests at the best of times. To make up for it, he seemed to be taking a perverse pleasure in watching Daniel getting knocked over. Sam was worried that her commanding officer seemed to enjoy watching his friend getting hurt, but she had to admit that seeing Daniel repeatedly hit the floor did take the sting out of his incredibly boring lessons.

Although they were making progress, she and Jack were struggling to learn Ancient. For the umpteenth time, she watched Daniel laboriously translate the symbols on the chalkboard, turning occasionally to lecture her on the finer points of Ancient grammar. Sam rolled her eyes – she was bored. And she had no idea where Jack was. Slapping her hands on the table, she stood suddenly, scattering papers as she headed for the door.

Daniel turned from the chalkboard, "Sam?"

She found Jack in the commissary, apparently drawing patterns on a plate with various condiments.

"Sir? You OK?"

"Just goin' a little crazy, Carter. If we don't find a way out of this soon, I'm gonna lose it."

Sam tilted her head to one side, considering her CO. He looked tired – dark circles were starting to form under his eyes. She sighed, aware that she probably looked the same.

"Sir, I'm not sure how this time loop works yet, but I'm pretty sure our minds think we've been awake for a week straight. Maybe we need to get some rest – take a couple of loops off."

"How 'bought a movie?" Jack quirked a half-smile at her. "Something in the action genre?"

"I don't know, sir. I think we need to get some sleep if we're going to make any progress on the translation."

"C'mon, Carter – you can't leave me goin' crazy on my own. You can sleep in the movie theater if you like. Please?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes and despite herself, Sam found she was smiling the smile she reserved just for Jack.

"OK. But nothing with aliens in it."

"…What do you think?"

Jack dropped his spoon. "O'Malley's?"

Sam faked a severe look. "Sir."

"OK," Jack pouted. "Back to the translation."

They stood and left together, heading for the General's office. Mouth open, Daniel watched them go.

"Guys?"

Daniel watched in quiet amazement as Jack wrote a precise and fluent translation under the symbols on the chalkboard. He stopped at the end of the second line, turning and offering the chalk.

"Carter?"

Sam rose and took the chalk from him. "Thank you, sir."

"No, no – thank you, Carter." Jack returned to his seat and scrubbed at his face wearily. Sam continued with the translation, her neat handwriting contrasting sharply with the Colonel's scrawl.

Daniel watched for a few moments as Sam translated a particularly difficult section with ease. "Exactly how many of these loops have you… have we been through?"

"I've lost track." Jack sighed and lowered his head to the desk.

"That must be frustrating."

"Yeah," Sam and Jack answered together, their tones sarcastic.

Picking up a book, Daniel considered the situation for a moment. "On the other hand, it's kind of an opportunity."

Jack's voice was slightly muffled against the papers he was resting his head on. "How's that?"

"Well think about it, I mean if you know in advance that everything is always going to go back to the way it was then…you could do anything for as long as you want without having to worry about the consequences." Daniel replaced the book on the shelf behind him.

Jack's head came up off the desk. He stared at Daniel. Sam had stopped writing. Her and Jack's heads turned to each other for a moment.

"Excuse me." Jack shot to his feet and strode out of the room.

Sam took a second to replace the chalk neatly, then swept past, throwing a quick "Sorry, Daniel" at him as she left. Daniel stared after them in confusion.

Jack was halfway down the corridor by the time Sam got out of the door. "Sir!"

"Meet you in the Gate room in half an hour."

"Sir?"

"Just be there, Major!" Jack jogged away, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

"So, keep your head down and try to keep the swing easy and natural."

"I see, sir." Sam stepped up to the tee, the rippling light from the Gate playing on her features and glinting off the club she held. "But I still don't understand why the stupid outfit is necessary."

Jack spread his arms, looking down at his ensemble. "Stupid? I'll have you know, Carter, that this outfit is a classic." He grinned at her. "Besides, I've wanted to do this for years. If you're gonna do something, do it one hundred percent."

"Yes sir." Sam smirked. She put her head down, addressing the ball.

"No, no, Carter – your grip's all wrong." Jack shoved his driver back into the bag and strode over to stand behind Sam. He put his arms around her and settled his hands on hers, adjusting her grip on the club. Acutely aware of his closeness, Sam stiffened.

"Relax, Major, or you'll slice it."

Forcing her muscles to relax, Sam tried to concentrate on the ball.

"Ready?"

She nodded. Jack's hands tightened on hers and he took a swing. With his arms encircling her and his body pressed against her back, Sam moved through the swing with him. The ball flew high and a little too far to the right, but sped through the event horizon to the faraway planet.

Jack and Sam watched, still pressed together, his hands still covering hers.

"How far is it to Alaris?"

"A few billion miles, sir."

"Gotta be a record."

Sam laughed and turned her head to grin at him. It was Jack's turn to feel their closeness as her hip pressed into him.

"Carter?" His voice was throatier than usual.

"Sir?" She was surprised to hear her voice also sounded husky.

"I think this was a bad idea."

"Yes sir."

Neither of them moved for a moment. Then Jack brought a hand up to Sam's face and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Colonel O'Neill! What the hell are you doing?"

They sprung apart, Sam stumbling slightly. She avoided Jack's eyes as she returned the club to the bag. "Thanks for the game, sir." She turned and practically ran out of the Gate room past Teal'c and a red-faced General Hammond as they entered.

Sam left the commissary as soon as they looped, running to her lab and programming some more simulations. She threw herself into the work, ignoring any thoughts she had about the possibilities of the situation.

Bemused, Jack made his way to the General's office and launched into the usual explanation of what was going on. He covered for Sam as best he could, guessing that she would be working on the numbers – her default refuge when her mind was too occupied with other things.

They hardly saw each other all day – when they did meet, Sam refused to meet the Colonel's gaze and got out of the room as fast as possible.

She managed to avoid Jack until they looped again. Again, she tried to leave quickly, but he caught up with her in the corridor and stopped her with a firm hand on her arm.

"I think I made some more progress with the simulations yesterday. I mean, in the last loop."

"Carter, don't avoid the subject."

"Sir, you know we can't let anything happen." Sam tried to walk away, but Jack caught her arm again.

"Major, nothing happened, nothing is going to happen. So why don't we get back to Daniel's lectures and see what we can work out?" He grinned at her, "Unless…"

"Sir?"

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, "Unless you find it too difficult to resist my admittedly rugged charm?"

Sam grinned, the tension leaving her body, "I'll do my best to resist you, sir, but it may be beyond my womanly power."

"Well, you're only human, Carter."

Determined to escape the situation as soon as possible and not wanting to risk getting too close, they agreed to get back to studying. They endured what seemed like another week's worth of loops without any significant progress before Jack finally decided to take Sam's advice. After briefing the General, who was eventually sympathetic, they made their way down to their rooms to get some sleep.

"Sir? What if we can't find a way to stop this?" Sam swallowed, struggling with the idea, "What if we're stuck like this forever?"

Jack moved to her, holding his arms out, "C'mere." Sam stepped into his embrace, "First of all, don't talk like that. You're gonna figure something out – you always do. Second, I can't think of anyone else I'd wanna be stuck in a time loop with, Sam."

She pulled back in surprise at the sound of her name. Jack smiled gently at her. "Now go get some sleep and we'll start again the 'morning'." He indicated the quote marks with his fingers.

Sam smiled and turned away, "Thanks, sir."

"Welcome." Jack strolled to his room, his head buzzing.

Sam's concentration had drifted. Staring into the middle distance, she tapped her pencil against the pile of papers in front of her. Daniel's voice occasionally floated into her consciousness. Next to her, Jack suddenly got to his feet. He'd been unusually quiet for the past couple of loops, but then again, so had Sam – the monotony was starting to really leave its mark.

Daniel stared, "What's going on, Jack?"

"Sorry, places to go, people to see, Danny." And he was gone.

Sam shrugged and glanced at her watch. Placing her pencil neatly beside the papers, she pushed her chair away from the table. "Sorry, Daniel – I'll be called away in a minute, too."

"What? Why?"

The airman knocked and entered immediately. "Major, General Hammond is asking for you."

Sam glanced at Daniel, rewarding his look of confused surprise with another shrug. She followed the airman to the control room to brief the General on their progress.

She went through the informal briefing on autopilot and was barely aware of the General breaking off to stare at something out of her line of sight. Shaking herself into a semblance of attention, Sam turned to see Jack, dressed in civilian clothes, heading determinedly towards them.

"Excuse me, George."

"Colonel, What are you doing out of uniform?" the General gaped.

Jack handed his superior officer a letter, "Handing you my resignation."

Sam's jaw dropped, along with the General's.

"Resigning? What for?"

"So I can do this…" Jack turned to Sam, slipping his arms around her waist. She braced herself against his chest and tried to pull away.

"No."

His eyes met hers. "Sam, I think I want something to happen."

Mutely, she shook her head, but found herself relaxing into him. Vaguely, she was aware of everyone in the control room staring. Then, all too quickly, his mouth was on hers and her eyes slipped closed, her lips parting slightly. She felt his arms shift around her as Jack swept her into a dramatic dip, his fingertips brushing the side of her breast. Her breath caught in her throat and she reached up and tangled her fingers in his hair, encouraging him to deepen the kiss.

The blazing light engulfed them once more.

"…Anyway, what do you think?"

Sam's looked up. Jack was gazing at her, his lips – oh, those lips – forming a knowing smirk. She shook her head slightly and stood, almost running from the commissary.

He caught up with her in seconds, catching her arm and pulling her gently into one of the labs. As soon as the door was closed, she wrenched free, turning on him.

"You had no right! No right to do that to me!"

Jack looked genuinely confused, "But, Sam – I thought…"

"No, not Sam. Don't call me that. Carter or Major – _that's_ what you get to call me." She turned away quickly, making a vicious gesture to keep him at bay, "You have no right to decide what I want and you have no right to put me through that."

"Put you through _what_? It was just a kiss!" Jack dragged a hand through his hair, "You seemed to be enjoying…"

"Stop!" Now Sam had turned on him again and was advancing, "It was not _just_ a kiss and you know it. I've been trying so hard to…" Her voice caught in her throat, "Ever since the Zatarc thing, I've been trying to…"

"I'm sorry." His voice was low, full of regret.

Sam looked up at him, unshed tears in her eyes. Her tone matched his. "Before that, I knew. I knew how you felt about me and I'm pretty sure you knew how I felt about you. But we never said. And because we never said, I could live with it. I could tell myself that it was just my imagination. Then I heard you say that you… and I couldn't pretend and I told myself I could live with it and I've been trying so hard to… to forget what we had to admit. To forget it ever happened and now you have to go and bring it all back just because… what? Because you were bored?"

Jack gestured as if he was about to take her hand, then thought better of it. "No. Not because I was bored. Because… you know why."

She nodded. They stood in silence for what seemed like an hour.

"Carter – you wanna have some fun?"

"Sir!" She looked up at him again, this time in alarm. One glance at his face told her that he was doing his best to apologise and put it all behind them.

Jack looked mock surprised at her tone. "Strictly within the regs, Major."

"Well OK - strictly within the regs, Colonel."

An hour later, Teal'c was striding down a corridor, on his way to discuss the Colonel and the Major's strange behaviour with General Hammond. He stopped at the sound of a loud squealing. Turning, his eyebrow shot up at the sight of Sam hurtling around the corner, firing a water gun over her shoulder. Her hair and BDUs were wet. Close on her heels came Jack, equally drenched. He skidded to a halt. Sam took advantage and made her getaway. Grinning madly, Jack methodically soaked Teal'c, then sped off after his 2IC. Water dripping from his nose, Teal'c frowned in confusion.

Sam crashed through the door, glancing quickly around the holding cell. She pushed the door back so that it stood ajar, then pressed herself against the wall, water gun primed and at the ready. She tried to calm her breathing. Over the sound of her heart pounding to make up the oxygen debt, she could hear cautious footsteps on the concrete floor outside. They stopped at the door.

Slowly, the door swung open. Sam held her breath. After what seemed like an age, the bright orange barrel of a water gun emerged around the edge of the door. Tensing, she eased herself away from the wall and brought her own weapon to bear. On a sudden instinct, she threw herself out of the way, just as Jack slammed the door open and hurled himself towards the bunk, spraying water wildly at Sam. From her position on the floor, she let loose, hitting Jack square in the face. With a noise halfway between a cry of frustration and a laugh, he collapsed on the bunk, scrubbing water out of his eyes. Sam moved in to finish him, but he was up again in a second, twisting the gun out of her hand.

Automatically, Sam grabbed Jack's wrist, trying to angle his gun away. He locked his other arm around her waist, swinging her around and tripping her so they fell together onto the bunk. Knowing he would win, Jack grinned and pointed the water gun at Sam's face.

"No!"

"Oh yes, Carter!"

A stream of water poured over her, drenching her hair and shirt. She shrieked again, struggling hard. Finally, she managed to wrestle the gun from him and throw it across the room. Panting and breathlessly giggling, Sam's blue eyes sparkled up at Jack. Their legs were tangled, his thigh pressed between hers, one hand still pinning her arm above her head. Before she knew what she was doing, the laughter still on her face, Sam pushed up against him, rubbing herself against his leg. Realising with sudden horror what she had done, she blushed, eyes wide and the laughter fading.

Jack's breath caught in his throat. His impossibly chocolate eyes seemed to darken and he leaned towards her. Sam turned her head away and tried to struggle out from under him. Dragging his gaze away from her lips, he pushed himself away to sit on the edge of the bunk. Sam slowly pulled herself upright, swinging her legs over to sit at a safe distance beside him.

"Yeah. Sorry."

Hesitantly, Sam reached over and covered his hand with hers.

"C'mere."

She shifted towards Jack and he put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Sam snuggled into his body, seeking a little of the comfort that they could not have. Jack's head rested on hers. They sat together in silence until he shifted slightly, turning her face to his with a hand under her chin. He watched her closely.

"You've thought about this, huh?"

"Yes sir. A lot, sir."

"Me too." He nodded slightly, his lips quirking. "You're right, as always."

"Wish I wasn't, sir."

"Me too."

Jack grinned again, "'Course, when everything loops again, this won't even have happened."

Sam frowned, concentrating, "Technically, no, sir. But it will have happened in our personal time lines. Given the unique challenges presented by working at SGC, I should suggest to General Hammond that the regs are reviewed for this particular base."

"Hell, Carter – there are times when you don't have to be so conscientious."

"What?"

Mock-serious, he glared down at her. "Working at SGC has always presented possibilities to break the regs and the ones you're thinking of are such fun to break."

"You are incorrigible."

"Incorrigible?"

"Sorry – you are incorrigible, _sir_."

"That's better, Major."

Sam smiled sadly at Jack as the light flashed around them again.

"Colonel, I want SG-1 to return to P4X-639. Major Carter may be right – you need to examine the device for more information." General Hammond made to leave the briefing room.

"Seriously, General – you're telling us to go back there?" Jack was almost vibrating with excitement.

The General turned back, "Is there a problem, Colonel?"

"No, sir. It's just that the last… " Jack looked at Sam.

"One hundred eleven, sir," she confirmed.

"…one hundred eleven times you've refused my request, sir."

"One hundred twelve's the charm, Colonel. Dismissed."

Malikai spun around at the sound of Jack shouting his name. Sam watched in horror as he brought his weapon to bear and fired on Jack, hitting his chest with a wave of energy. She raced over to the Colonel as he fell, Daniel close on her heels. Teal'c knocked Malikai out with a swift blow.

Sam tried to be methodical, but she was on the verge of panic – her hands were shaking as she tried to check Jack's pulse. Daniel gently took her hands and moved them away. Sam had a weird, out-of-body feeling that the whole planet was holding its breath.

"Teal'c, dial us home. Fast!" Daniel's voice seemed unnaturally loud after the tense silence, "His heart's beating, but it's all irregular. We need to get him to Janet."

By the time he had finished speaking, Teal'c had hoisted Malikai's unconscious form onto his shoulder and was striding towards the Stargate. Sam leapt up and sprinted after him.

"Leave him! I'll get the 'Gate – you get Jack!" She knew she was screaming orders, an edge of hysteria in her voice. Sliding to a halt next to the DHD, Sam deliberately took a moment to breathe and calm down. Methodically, ensuring she got it right, she dialled the home address, only just remembering to broadcast SG-1's code. Behind her, Teal'c and Daniel were carrying Jack as carefully and quickly as they could towards the shimmering 'Gate.

Seconds after they emerged in the Gateroom, Sam heard the General's voice calling for a medical team. She watched in a daze as Dr Frasier and her team arrived with a gurney, swiftly taking charge.

Daniel stepped to her side and put his arms around her shoulders, "He'll be OK, Sam."

The words were barely out of his mouth before the activity around Jack reached fever pitch and Janet clambered onto the gurney, her hands coming together over his heart and compressing his chest.

"Go, go, go!"

The medical team set off at a sprint with Janet still administering CPR as they raced to the infirmary. Sam glanced at Daniel, panic in her eyes again, then started after Jack.

Daniel and Teal'c caught up with her at the infirmary, where they almost collided with her. Sam was standing like a statue just inside the door, watching as Dr Frasier worked on the Colonel, her body shaking and unshed tears in her eyes. Daniel led her to a chair and sat next to her, taking her hand in his. Teal'c strode over to join them and they settled down to wait.

"…What do you think?"

Sam threw herself at Jack, her arms locking around his neck, "Oh, God – you're OK! You're alive!"

Jack wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the stares and enjoying the moment. He caught Daniel's eye and shrugged nonchalantly.

Sam pulled away, swiping at her eyes, "Excuse me, sir." She left the commissary quickly, heading for her room.

"What the hell was that about?" Daniel glared at Jack, correctly assuming that he was the reason for Sam's behaviour, but with no clue how.

"Search me, Daniel," Jack left the archaeologist looking confused and irritated. He made his way slowly to Sam's quarters, pausing at the door to listen before knocking gently.

"Sam?"

Muffled by the door and sounding like she had a head cold, Sam's voice was still determined, "I'll be out in a moment, sir. I'll meet you at the briefing."

"Just as long as you're OK, Carter."

"Yes, sir."

Jack left slowly.

They spent the next couple of hours going through the motions as they had done so many times before. It wasn't until Jack noticed the vacant look on his 2IC's face halfway through their latest lesson in Ancient that he decided that something had to be done.

Standing abruptly and taking Sam's arm, he led her to one of the empty offices and locked the door.

"Out with it, Carter – what the hell is the matter with you?"

She didn't look at him, but turned away, her arms hugging herself, "You almost died… I… your heart stopped."

Jack shrugged, "Like _that_ hasn't happened before."

Sam shrugged, still with her back turned to him. Puzzled, he strode over and lifted her chin so he could look at her. "Carter?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I just… I never wanted to live with any regrets."

"Regrets?"

She sighed, "I don't regret joining the SGC. I don't regret serving on SG-1. But there are regrets."

"Me too."

When their lips met, it was softly and with exquisite hesitancy. Jack's hand moved from her chin to cradle the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair. Sam angled her head towards him, opening her lips in invitation. The kiss became more urgent - tongues tasting, mouths seeking solace. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her even closer. Sam moaned softly and he pushed her gently backwards until she felt the desk against her thighs. Jack's lips left hers, trailing across her cheek. With a gasp of anticipation, she felt his breath on her neck and shifted onto the desk, wrapping her legs around his waist, her body begging him to continue. His hands were tugging at her shirt, searching for the warm flesh underneath. Sam had already pulled Jack's shirt free and was leaving tingling trails on his body with her fingers. Their lips met again, crashing together desperately.

The siren wailed through the base. They paused, their lips still locked together. Sam pulled away first, checking her watch.

"We're going to loop again."

"Dammit," Jack muttered, his lips on her throat again. They clung to each other as the blinding light engulfed them.

"…What do you think?"

Sam's eyes met Jack's. "No regrets, sir?"

"Sir?" His eyebrows arched in surprise.

"Until I've resigned – yes, _sir_."

Daniel's jaw dropped. "_Resigned_? Sam, what…I mean…why in the world would you resign? What the hell is…"

Jack grinned, "OK _Major_. And how long do you think that will take?"

"About half an hour."

"Meet you in VIP Room 2 in half an hour, _Major_."

"Yes _Colonel_."

Jack and Sam stood as one and strode swiftly out of the commissary. Daniel watched in amazement, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Guys?"

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Jack was leaning against the door, watching Sam as she sat on the edge of the bed, nervously twisting her fingers together.

"Not absolutely," Sam sighed, "This is going to be a problem when we finally get back to normal."

Jack came to sit by her. "I know."

"But I'm tired. I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of hiding."

"I know."

Sam sighed again, "Kiss me, Jack."

He turned to her and found her lips, his name still on them.

General Hammond strode down the corridor, Daniel hurrying along at his side. As they came to a halt in front of one of the VIP rooms, Teal'c arrived from the opposite direction.

"Maybe one of you can tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, but remained stoically silent. Daniel shrugged, genuinely confused. Frustrated by their ignorance, the General stepped up to the locked door and hammered loudly on it. Leaning closer, he heard a muffled giggle and some swearing.

"Go away!"

During the stunned pause that followed, Daniel was certain that he heard a low moan from Sam. He blocked the idea from his mind and rearranged his face into good-natured puzzlement. Teal'c was taking a sudden interest in the construction of the corridor walls – his hearing was better than Daniel's.

The General hammered on the door once again, "Colonel O'Neill, you get your butt out here! That is an order, airman!"

This time, there was no mistaking it – Sam laughed out loud. More swearing and muttering finally gave way to the door opening a fraction and Jack's tousled head appearing in the gap.

"What?!"

"You had better have a good explanation for your behaviour, Colonel!"

Jack grinned, "Yes, sir – I do. She's blonde and she's smart and she's waiting."

"Blonde?" Hammond's face, Daniel noticed, was turning an alarming shade of red.

"Yes, sir. So give me another 20 minutes…"

"40 minutes!" Sam yelled.

"Yeah – 40 minutes… no wait, better make that an hour… and I'll explain everything." Jack's head disappeared and the door slammed shut in the apoplectic general's face. The lock slid into place.

Showing a surprising amount of prescience, the SF who had been awaiting orders slipped away. General Hammond, Daniel and Teal'c regarded the door in silence. The moment was broken by the unmistakeable sound of Sam sighing her commanding officer's name. The General turned swiftly on his heel and strode back in the direction of his office, yelling for his assistant. Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a look and departed the area before the situation got really out of hand.

In a strange way it was reassuring, Jack thought, that in the last few loops, the General's reaction to their behaviour hadn't varied. He could turn a blind eye to some of SG-1's foibles, but apparently sleeping together was one step too far. At one time in his life, Jack had been pretty sure that his military career would end in a court-martial, but he had never expected to be dishonourably discharged on eight different occasions. Nine, if you counted the incident in the briefing room when the General had actually lost the ability to speak coherently and had simply choked out "Court-martial". On reflection, perhaps he had greeted Sam a little over-enthusiastically that time.

"I think I've figured out how the machine on P4X-639 works. And how to reset it." Sam rolled onto her stomach so that she could look at him. "Jack?"

He reached out and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear, "Yeah. I knew that brain of yours was gonna keep on truckin'." Jack smiled ruefully, "Don't suppose we could stay here for a bit longer? Two more loops? Three?"

"You know that there are thirteen other 'Gates being affected as well as Earth. We have to go back."

"I know," Jack sighed, "Back to saving the world."

"Yeah." Sam slipped an arm over his chest and settled her head against his shoulder.

"Sam, I…"

"Don't say it!" Sam sat up and put a hand over his mouth, "We said we wouldn't say it. If we don't say it, I can go back to pretending this never happened. For a little while, at least."

But after they made love for the last time and Sam was sleeping in his arms, Jack leaned over her and whispered in her ear as the bright light overtook them.

"I lost my son!"

Sam flinched, the pain in Jack's voice a physical blow to her. Automatically, she took a step forward, her hand itching to take his. But she stopped herself – she was Major Sam Carter and he was Colonel Jack O'Neill and Majors did not comfort their Colonels in public. Or in private, for that matter.

"I _know_…and as much as I…I could never live that over again. Could you?"

Malikai shook his head, tears standing in his eyes, "No."

"Let her go."

Jack looked at Sam, his impossibly brown eyes locking with hers. Behind him, Malikai was operating the controls to end the time loop. As the forcefield dropped, Teal'c and Daniel moved to the archaeologist to ensure he wouldn't try anything stupid.

Moving as close as he dared, Jack dropped his voice to little more than a whisper, "I can't live through this again, Sam."

"We have to, Jack. No regrets, remember?"

"So it's all going back in that damn room again?"

Sam gave him a watery smile, "If we want to carry on saving the world, yeah. Back in that room."

Jack broke away, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring up at the alien sky. For what seemed like an eternity, he didn't say a word.

"Jack?"

He came out of his thoughts with a start, "We're saving the _universe_, Sam. I couldn't give you up for anything less than the universe."

Struggling to control herself and very aware that the others were only a few yards away, Sam reached out and softly drew her hand down his cheek. Jack refused to look away, their gazes locked as he tried to memorise the last feel of her skin against his. Sam abruptly broke the contact and strode to the 'Gate, Jack following her with his eyes.

Jack stirred his oatmeal slowly. He'd been looking forward to eating something other than fruit loops for so long, but now he wasn't really hungry. Sam was pushing scrambled eggs around her plate, her eyes not really seeing the meal.

"We, er, we had a message from the Tok'ra," Daniel eyed his friends, nervously. "They've been trying to contact us for nearly four months."

"Really?"

Still unsure of his friends' moods, Daniel tried another subject, "Let me ask you something. In all the time that you were…er…looping, were you ever tempted to do something crazy?"

Both heads shot up and two pairs of eyes stared at him.

"Crazy?" Sam cleared her throat, "No, nothing crazy."

Jack relaxed and filled his spoon with oatmeal, "No – nothing we regret."

Sorry about the ending – nothing I tried seemed to work, so I went with them going back to things as they were. Just a vacation from reality for them (and for me).

Please review if you think it's worth it.


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